Gaming machine with fractionally enhanced payouts

ABSTRACT

A gaming machine generates a first payout when a first pattern of symbols is displayed and a second payout when a second pattern of symbols is displayed that differs from the first pattern of symbols by one symbol. The one symbol indicates a fractional amount and the second payout is higher than the first payout by a fraction equivalent to the indicated fractional amount.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to gaming machines, such as slot machines andvideo poker machines, and to payout methods in relation to suchmachines.

Slot machines are popular in casinos and other gaming establishments. Atypical slot machine has a number of (physical or animated) reels whichspin during play and stop to display a pattern of symbols on one or morepayout lines. Certain symbol patterns are “winners” resulting in apayout to the player.

Slot machines are designed to provide a profit margin, which may be onthe order of five percent. This means that for every 100 coins fed intothe machine, on average, the machine will pay out 95 coins and retain 5.The profit provided by a slot machine is generally proportional to thetime the machine is in use. Machines with higher entertainment value aregenerally more heavily used. Therefore, slot machines have been designedwith a variety of features to enhance their entertainment value, such ascolourful graphics, exciting sounds, and player bonuses. A typical bonusis a payout multiplier. In a known method, if in an otherwise winningpattern, one of the symbols of the pattern has been replaced by a payoutmultiplier symbol, the payout which results from the winning combinationis multiplied by the multiple indicated by the symbol. If two symbols ofa winning pattern have been replaced by a payout multiplier symbol, thenthe payout is multiplied by the product of these two symbols. Thus, fora 2× multiplier symbol, the payout is doubled. And for a 2× and 3×multiplier symbol substituted in winning pattern, the payout ismultiplied by 6. In such machines, multipliers of 2×, 3×, 4×, 5×, 10,12×, and higher, are common.

Despite the wide variety of entertainment enhancing features of knownslot machines, there remains a need to provide machines with highentertainment value.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is believed that a machine with bonus symbols and, as well, a highpayout frequency, would be considered by players to be an excitingmachine to play, and hence one that would hold their interest longer.The present invention achieves this by providing bonus symbols which, inwinning patterns, fractionally enhance payouts. Because the payout isfractionally enhanced (i.e., multiplied by a non-integer multipliergreater than one) and not multiplied by an integer value (greater thanone), a greater number of bonus symbols may be used in winning patternsfor a given profit margin set for the machine.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of establishing apayout for a gaming machine, comprising: displaying symbols; generatinga first payout where said symbols displayed match a first payoutpattern; generating a second payout where said symbols displayed, apartfrom one symbol, match said first payout pattern and said one symbol isa fractional symbol, said second payout being fractionally higher thansaid first payout.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a gaming machine comprising: a user interface for allowing auser to commence a symbol displaying game; a display for displayingsymbols; control means for controlling display of symbols on saiddisplay and for generating a first payout when a first pattern ofsymbols is displayed and for generating a second payout when a secondpattern of symbols is displayed that differs from said first pattern ofsymbols by one symbol, said one symbol indicating a fractional amount,said second payout being fractionally higher than said first payout.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures which illustrate example embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slot machine made in accordance withthe subjection invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the machine of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a reel strip in accordance with thisinvention which may be used with the slot machine of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is an exemplary pay table for use with the machine of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of the machine of FIG.1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the word fraction means any positive non-integer value.

Turning to FIG. 1, a slot machine 10 has a symbol display 12 fordisplaying symbols 14 on a payline 16 and user inputs 20 for allowing auser to commence a symbol generating game. The user inputs may include acoin input 22 and a bill input 24 so that a user may accrue game playingcredits with a payment. Alternatively, the machine could have a tokeninput for the same purpose. These credits may be displayed on creditdisplay 26. The inputs may also include buttons 28 to allow a user toselect the size of a bet and a button 32 and/or a handle 34 to allow auser to commence play. A further button 36 may allow a user to cash outaccrued credits. Cashed out, or paid out coins or tokens may drop to acoin or token dispensing bin 37. In other embodiments, the machine maydispense a ticket indicative of cashed out tokens or may transfer anindication of cashed out tokens to a player card inserted by the player.Other buttons or the like may be provided to allow special playfunctions, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Themachine 10 may also have a sign 38 setting out winning symbol patternsand their associated payouts.

With reference to FIG. 2, a controller 40 may be connected to receiveindications of user inputs from inputs 20. The controller may output tocredit display 26 and to a coin/token dispenser 46. The controller maybe connected for two way communication with a random number generator 44and with stepper motors 48 a, 48 b, 48 c. Each stepper motor may beoperatively connected to selectively spin a reel 50 a, 50 b, 50 cassociated with display 12.

With reference to FIG. 3 along with FIG. 2, each reel may support a tape60 with symbols 14 and blanks 15. As is typical, each symbol on tape 60has a blank on either side of it. At least one of the symbols is afractional symbol. As illustrated, symbol 14 a is a fractional symbolindicating the fraction 20/100 as a percentage: 20%. The tape of eachreel may have either the same pattern of symbols, or the pattern ofsymbols on each tape may be different. For example, a second tape mayhave the fractional symbol 30% rather than the symbol 20% of tape 60.

Controller 40 may be, for example, a microprocessor with a persistentmemory, a field programmable gate array, or an electro-mechanicalcontroller. The controller may hold a pay table—which may be stored in apersistent memory where the controller is a microprocessor, or which maybe hardwired into a field programmable gate array controller or anelectro-mechanical controller.

FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of an example pay table. Turning to FIG. 4,the symbol pattern of 2×2×2× on the three reels is shown in pay table 70as a winning combination that returns the maximum payout, of 6400credits for a bet of one credit, 12,800 credits for a bet of two creditsand 19,200 for a bet of three credits. The symbol pattern of 1BAR 1BAR1BAR is shown to return 10, 20, or 30 credits for a bet of one, two, orthree credits, respectively. Notably, a symbol pattern of any of 1BAR1BAR 20%, 1BAR 20% 1BAR or 20% 1BAR 1BAR returns 12, 24, or 36 creditsfor a bet of one, two, or three credits, respectively. This is 20%higher than the return for the symbol pattern of 1BAR 1BAR 1BAR. Thus,the substitution of the fractional symbol, 20% for one of the 1BARsymbols in the winning symbol pattern 1BAR 1BAR 1BAR, enhances thepayout of the winning pattern by 20%. In other words, the substitutionof the fractional symbol 20% multiplies the payout of the winningpattern by the non-integer value 1.2.

Also notable is that a winning symbol pattern of any of 1BAR 20% 20%,20% 20% 1BAR or 20% 1BAR 20% returns 14, 28, or 42 credits for a bet ofone, two, or three credits, respectively. This is (20%+20%=) 40% higherthan the return for the symbol pattern of 1BAR 1BAR 1BAR. Thus, thesubstitution of the fractional symbol 20% for two of the 1BAR symbols inthe winning symbol pattern 1BAR 1BAR 1BAR, enhances the payout of thewinning pattern by 40%.

The pay table may also include non-winning patterns, i.e., patterns forwhich there is a zero payout.

The tape of FIG. 3, as is typical, has a blank on either side of eachsymbol. There are twenty-two different stops on tape 60: the first stopbeing the blank at the top of the strip, the second stop being thesymbol 2BAR, the third being another blank, and so on.

Turning to FIG. 5, which is a flow diagram illustrating operation ofmachine 10, along with FIG. 2, in use controller 40 registers credits oncredit display 26 responsive to payments made by the user (S110). Thecontroller also registers the size of a bet made by a user (S112) and,in response to the user initiating play (S114), controls stepper motors48 a, 48 b, 48 c to spin reels 50 a, 50 b, 50 c (S116). The steppermotors return step signals to the controller so that it is aware of thecurrent reel stop (i.e., position) of each of the reels. Additionally,the controller interrogates random number generator 44. Oninterrogation, the random number generator may be configured togenerate, and return to the controller, one number. In this case,controller 40 parses the returned random number to obtain one randomnumber for each reel 50 a, 50 b, 50 c (S118). Alternatively, on aninterrogation, the random number generator 44 may be configured toreturn one random number for each reel. The random number for each reelmay be mapped to a reel stop for each reel (S119). The random number fora reel may represent the reel stop for the reel so that, in effect, therandom number is the reel stop. (For example, considering a reel bearingthe tape 60 of FIG. 3 which has twenty-two reel stops, the random numberfor this reel may be a number selected from the numbers from 1 to 22.)Alternatively, the random number may represent a virtual reel stop whichmust be mapped to a physical reel stop. (For example, considering againa reel bearing the tape 60 of FIG. 3, there may be seventy-two virtualreel stops which map to the twenty-two physical reel stops of the tape.The mapping table which maps the virtual stops to physical stops may becreated so as to reduce the probability of the appearance of symbolsassociated with higher payouts.) The controller may then control motors48 a, 48 b, 48 c so that each reel stops at its determined reel stop(i.e., each reel stops so that the symbol or blank associated with thedetermined reel stop is at the payline of display 12) (S120). Thepattern of symbols and/or blanks associated with the determined reelstops is also used to interrogate the pay table (S122). If there is apayout associated with the pattern, the controller then controlsdispenser 46 to dispense coins or tokens in equal number from themachine 10 (S124). This process may continue with the user placing afurther bet. In this regard, if the user has insufficient creditsremaining for the desired bet, the user must first pay for additionalcredits (S110) in order to be in a position to place the bet.Alternatively, the user may cash out (S126, S128).

As will be appreciated, the architecture of FIG. 2 is only one of manysuitable architectures for slot machine 10. For example, where thecontroller includes a microprocessor, a video graphics card input by thecontroller could take the place of motors 48 a, 48 b, 48 c and reels 50a, 50 b, 50 c. In such instance, under control of the controller, thevideo graphics card could generate video images of animated symbolbearing reels on display 12. In this regard, in further possibleembodiments, animated reels can be replaced with any other animatedsymbol bearing constructs. For example, some known slot machines displayanimated icons, each representing a symbol or blank, falling to thepayline of the display.

Pay table 70 does not need to include every possible pattern explicitly,instead it could include payouts for basic winning patterns (e.g., 1BAR,1BAR, 1BAR) and a rule set by way of which enhanced payouts are derivedfrom these basic winning patterns. For example, a rule set could includethe following rules:

-   -   Payout for 1BAR, 1BAR, 1BAR is 10× credits bet.    -   Payout for any combination including two 1BAR symbols and a 20%        symbol is 20% higher.        Alternatively, rather than using paytable 70, an odds table for        each winning pattern could be provided and the controller could        apply a formula to generate a payout based on the odds table.

Of course, a reel could have symbols indicating a variety of differentfractional enhancements to a payout. For example, 10%, 30%, and 50%symbols might appear on the reels. In such instance, a winningcombination that pays, say, 10 credits, pays 30% more, or 13 credits ifa 30% symbol is substituted for one of the symbols in the winningcombination. And if both the 30% and 10% symbol were substituted in thewinning combination, the payout would be enhanced by (30%+10%=) 40%.

Thus, in general, the fraction indicating symbols increase a payout bythe fraction indicated (which multiplies the payout by a non-integervalue greater than one) and if two (or more) fraction indicating symbolsare substituted in a winning combination, they increase the payout bytheir arithmetic sum.

The fraction indicating symbols may, of course, be expressed directly asfractions rather than percentages (e.g., ⅕, instead of 20%).

It may be desirable (or necessary, depending upon local regulation) thatall payouts are integer values. In other words, it may be necessary ordesirable to avoid a payout value of, for example, 5.5 tokens. Such aresult can be avoided by judicious choice of both the base payout valuesand the potential fractional enhancements of these values.

The teachings of this invention are applicable to any gaming machinewhich generates payouts for winning combinations of symbols. Forexample, a video poker machine generates sets of animated cards duringplay, with certain sets of cards resulting in a payout. In accordancewith this invention, certain of the cards may indicate fractionalamounts (e.g., 20%). In such instance, a set of cards which would haveresulted in a winning combination but for the card indicating thefractional amount, is considered to be that winning combination with apayout enhanced by the fractional amount.

A drawback with the use of multiplier symbols is that they necessarilysignificantly reduce the payout frequency of a machine for any givenprofit margin for the machine. A reduced frequency of payouts reducesplayer excitement. Thus, although the multipliers may be consideredexciting, this is likely outweighed in the mind of a player by the lowerpayout frequency. The use of the fractional symbols of the subjectinvention may also enhance player excitement in the same manner as domultiplier symbols. However, the fractional symbols provide the benefitthat they can have a significantly lesser impact on payout frequency.The result is a game that may, overall, be considered significantly moreexciting than one relying solely on multiplier symbols. Further, a gamehaving fractional symbols may also have a few, low multiple, multipliersymbols so that the game provides a similar player “feel” to a gamerelying solely on multiplier symbols. Alternatively, rather than usingany multiplier symbols, the game may use a few larger fractions, such as3/2 (150%).

Other modifications than those expressly mentioned herein will beapparent to those skilled in the art and, therefore, the invention isdefined in the claims.

1. A method of establishing a payout for a gaming machine, comprising:displaying symbols; generating a first payout where said symbolsdisplayed match a first payout pattern; generating a second payout wheresaid symbols displayed, apart from one symbol, match said first payoutpattern and said one symbol is a fractional symbol, said second payoutbeing fractionally higher than said first payout.
 2. The method of claim1 wherein said fractional symbol indicates a given fractional amount andwherein said second payout is higher than said first payout by saidgiven fractional amount.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein where saidsymbols displayed, apart from two symbols, match said first payoutpattern, and where each of said two symbols is a fractional symbol,generating a third payout which is higher than said first payout andfractionally higher than said second payout.
 4. The method of claim 3wherein said two symbols comprise a first fractional symbol indicating afirst fractional amount and a second fractional symbol indicating asecond fractional amount and wherein said third payout is higher thansaid first payout by a fraction comprising a sum of said firstfractional amount and said second fractional amount.
 5. The method ofclaim 4 wherein each payout is measured in units and wherein said firstpayout, said second payout, and said third payout comprise an integernumber of said units.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said first payoutpattern comprises a plurality of horizontally arranged adjacentidentical symbols.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein said symbols arerandomly displayed.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein said first payoutpattern comprises at least two jackpot symbols.
 9. A gaming machinecomprising: a user interface for allowing a user to commence a symboldisplaying game; a display for displaying symbols; control means forcontrolling display of symbols on said display and for generating afirst payout when a first pattern of symbols is displayed and forgenerating a second payout when a second pattern of symbols is displayedthat differs from said first pattern of symbols by one symbol, said onesymbol indicating a fractional amount, said second payout beingfractionally higher than said first payout.
 10. The gaming machine ofclaim 9 wherein said second payout is higher than said first payout bysaid fractional amount.
 11. The gaming machine of claim 9 wherein saidcontrol means is also for generating a third payout when a third patternof symbols is displayed that differs from said first pattern of symbolsby two symbols, each of said two symbols indicating a fractional amount,said third payout being higher than said first payout and fractionallyhigher than said second payout.
 12. The gaming machine of claim 11wherein said two symbols comprise a first fractional symbol indicating afirst fractional amount and a second fractional symbol indicating asecond fractional amount and wherein said third payout is higher thansaid first payout by a fraction comprising a sum of said firstfractional amount and said second fractional amount.
 13. The gamingmachine of claim 9 further comprising a plurality of parallel reels, atleast a portion of each of said reels forming part of said display, eachreel bearing a plurality of symbols.
 14. The gaming machine of claim 13wherein at least one of said reels has said one symbol indicating afractional amount.
 15. The gaming machine of claim 14 wherein saidcontrol means is for rotating said plurality of reels to providedifferent combinations of symbols on said display.
 16. A method ofestablishing a payout for a gaming machine, comprising: displayingsymbols; generating a first payout where said symbols displayed match afirst payout pattern; generating a second payout where said symbolsdisplayed, apart from one symbol, match said first payout pattern andsaid one symbol is a fractional symbol, a quotient of said second payoutover said first payout equaling a non-integer value greater than one.